


The Secrets We Share

by violasarecool



Category: Star Wars Legends: The Old Republic (Video Game)
Genre: Alderaan, Backstory, Family, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-04
Updated: 2019-09-04
Packaged: 2020-10-10 00:07:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,374
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20518700
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/violasarecool/pseuds/violasarecool
Summary: Saani has a number of apartments (and/or safehouses) scattered across the galaxy; the result of a lifetime spent in less than legal endeavours. But for some reason, Saani seems reluctant to take her crew to visit the place she has on Alderaan.





	The Secrets We Share

"Risha says we need to stop and get more fuel," Corso said that evening as they prepped for takeoff, Tatooine sand in Saani's every pore—and worse, coating every inch of the ship.

Saani brushed off the nearest console irritably. "Oh we _need_ to, do we? Whose ship is this, anyway?"

"I'm just passing on what she said," Corso said placatingly.

Saani focused on the flickering lights of the many buttons and switches in silence. Corso, never one for long silences, began talking again. "We're running out of ration bars, too. And it's been _days_ since we've had a hot meal."

Saani gave a grunt. That... was a good point. "Would you believe I'm missing cafeteria food?"

"Yes," Corso said immediately. "Wait, I mean, not because..." He gave her a sheepish look, and she snorted. "Listen, can we just stop somewhere between here and wherever it is we need to go next?"

"Alright, alright," Saani said with amused resignation. She reached over to the panel beside her, flicking through the notes on the small screen. "Alderaan," she read aloud, flicking him a glance. "Alderaan's nice, we can probably stop somewhere onworld."

"What, no apartment on Alderaan?" Corso asked with a grin.

Saani stopped mid motion, hand hovering over the screen. She stared at it for a second, though her eyes weren't moving. "Nope," she said belatedly, jerking back into motion, "nuh uh, not an option."

Corso shot her a curious look. "What does _that_ mean?"

"It _means,_ it's not happening," Saani said crossly.

Corso tipped his head. "So you _do_ have a place there, you just... don't want to go?"

"Don't want to go where?" came Risha's voice from behind them.

"Alderaan," Corso said.

"Um," Risha leaned into Saani's field of vision, "we _have_ to go to Alderaan. What, are you _more_ wanted on Alderaan than anywhere else?"

"Nah, she just _really _doesn't want to go to her apartment there," Corso said.

"...House," Saani said resignedly.

"You have a _house_ on _Alderaan?"_ Risha gave her a baffled look. "You live out of your ship, and keep, what, 3 empty apartments, and a _house_ in one of the most expensive parts of the galaxy, _empty, _year-round?"

"No-o..."

"No?"

"It's... not empty."

"Oh?" Risha's expression turned devious. "And just who are you trying to keep us from meeting?"

Saani sighed. "I guess you're about to find out, huh?" she said, punching in hyperspace coordinates.

* * *

They parked on a pristine platform overlooking a rather scenic view where snowy peaks met grassy hills. Corso gave a low whistle. "Nice place," he said, eyeing the surrounding buildings with interest.

"Don't get too excited," Saani said dryly, "we've got to walk through the upscale neighbourhood to get where we're going."

The walk felt longer than usual, the towering buildings pressing in on all sides as if they _weren't_ perfectly laid out by the city for 'optimum residential spacing'. Clean, pristine; even the marketplace was carefully arranged so that busy days like today presented no more than a light ebb of foot traffic on their way through. "Makes me wanna toss a stink bomb in here, just to shake things up," Saani muttered to Risha, who laughed.

Nothing like the streets of Nar Shaddaa where she'd grown up; but then, that was the point, wasn't it? Something nice, for a change.

As they made to leave the wide area for the narrower streets ahead, Bowdaar patted Saani's shoulder, drawing her attention to a small flower shop on the edge of the market, window displays bursting with colourful blossoms and waving tendrils. _"I will rejoin you later,"_ he said in a low rumble, and Saani nodded.

"If you're done first, just take a left down here, then a right, and it's the third on the left," she said, as they left. Then, it was just the three of them, walking down between the squatter buildings in single file.

They came to a stop outside the pale blue door. "Don't suppose I can persuade you to wait outside?"

"Not a chance," Risha said staunchly.

Saani sighed. "Fine," she muttered. Then, she put in the passcode and stepped inside, leading them into a wide entryway. "Hellooo, anyone home?"

There was a sound like something hitting the floor in a nearby room. Then, approaching footsteps, and a hunched zabrak appeared in the doorway, another hot on their heels. "Mev?" the first said, face lighting up in a bright smile.

_"Mev?"_ Corso said, wrinkling his nose as he looked at Saani, but she was already walking toward the older Zabraks.

"Uh, hey Mom," Saani said, eyes creasing in a sheepish smile, "hey Dad." She strode forward, stretching out her arms before she'd even reached them to pull them into a hug.

"Gentle, now," her dad said, with a creaky laugh. "I'm not as sturdy as I used to be."

"You would be if you kept moving," Saani said, giving them a reproving look.

"Not everyone can keep flying around the galaxy like you, dear," they said.

Saani looked at her mother, who just shrugged. "We do more than we used to. You should see the sculptures my wife's been making," she said, shooting a conspiratorial look at the others standing behind Saani, "it's enough exercise just lugging them up the stairs!"

"_What_ stairs? You don't _have_ stairs!" Saani exclaimed, giving her mother a baffled look as the older woman approached Risha and Corso. "What, are you taking the damn things on _walks?"_ Saani grumbled, but no one was listening.

"Now, who are these young people?" her mother said, holding out a hand to Corso.

"My name's Corso, Mrs. E'ron," Corso said.

"E'ron?" She gave a loud laugh. "Mev, you've been giving your kids fake names?"

Saani cleared her throat loudly. "They are _absolutely_ not my kids."

"She said that about the last ones, too," her mother said, giving Corso a wink, "where have they gotten to since then?"

"_Mom,"_ Saani exclaimed.

"Uh huh. Well, listen, you call me Niris."

"Alright, Niris."

"And...?" She turned to Risha.

"Risha. Nice to meet you, Niris," Risha said, holding out her own hand with a winning smile, "I'm sure we'll get along _very_ well." 

Saani shot her a narrow look; behind them, her dad gave a wheezing laugh.

"I'm sure we will," Niris said brightly. "Now, you must tell me what my child's been up to these past few months; they could be attending their own _award_ ceremony and they'd never tell us. And they _have,_ you know!"

"_Really_," Risha said, shooting Saani a gleeful look.

_No!_ Saani thought furiously, already backing out of the room. _Not... not technically, anyway._ "I'm gonna go find Aunt Gosta," they mouthed at their father, shutting the hall door behind them before they could catch anymore of the conversation. At this point, there was no stopping their mother; she would tell them any number of horrifically embarrassing stories whether Saani was in the room or not. Better to make themself scarce until things had died down a little.

And besides, they were here for a reason.

She crossed through the wide open family room; a significant upgrade from the tiny living space in the first apartment she'd been able to afford all those years ago—what was it now, 25 years? _No, 30,_ she realized, trailing a hand across the back of one of several couches, _god, time's a speedy bastard._ She emerged out into the far hall, and took the last few steps over to the paint-splattered door just ahead. "I'm coming in!" she called, turning the doorknob—then made a disgusted noise as her hand came away sticky. She nudged the door the rest of the way open with her foot.

The inside of the room glittered like a crystal cavern, flashes of light hitting Saani's eyes as she stepped inside. She blinked, once, twice: there was light pouring in through the tall windows, that was true, but as her eyes adjusted to the brightness, she realized the main force of the _blinding_ array was coming from hundreds of fragments of what looked like transparisteel, or crystals, or a mix of both, dotting the surface of countless wire and clay frames scattered around the room. Some of the closer ones seemed to resemble animals—a kath hound, a shaggy nerf, a thranta. Others, frankly, looked like they'd been smashed with a hammer and glued back together by an impatient 3 year old. Saani knew from experience this was intentional.

In the middle of the room, something moved, and Saani glanced over to see a seated figure turn her way, then stand up, grinning as they made eye contact. "Kell!" her Aunt Gosta said, arms already out for a hug.

A potentially very sticky hug. "Hey, no," Saani said, sidestepping her, "I'm not getting _any_ of that on my clothes."

Gosta glanced down at her glue-tacky shirt, dirt and crystalline shards clinging to the fabric. "That might be for the best," she admitted. She fumbled at her wrist, retrieving the elastic band there to pull back her white hair into a loose ponytail, hair curling around her tall horns. "So, what brings you back here? Not just visiting your family, I assume," she said, with a sly grin.

"I came to visit two months ago!" Saani protested, arms crossed.

"Which is why I assumed!" Gosta said. She tipped her head to one side, nodded at the sculpture taking up most of the small central table. "What do you think, more colour?"

Saani gave it a dubious look; from what she could tell, just about every surface on its fragmented body was sporting a different colour. "I don't know if there's any other colours _left_," she said, and Gosta laughed.

"Yeah, that one's a bit garish, even for me."

Saani decided not to say anything to _that._ "We're mostly here to pick up a few things I've got stashed," she said, watching as Gosta bent over a smaller sculpture, one hand on her hip as she gave it a critical look. "And, you know, anything you know about some of the nobles here would sure help."

"Oh, sure," Gosta said, straightening with a wince, "I've sold some of my work to the Velasquez representatives on this side of the mountains; big estate, plenty of gossip."

"Oh, is _that_ where Mom and Dad have been carrying all of this."

Gosta pointed a sparkling finger at Saani. "Listen, I said I could handle it myself; they just like to be helpful!"

Saani laughed. "So would you if it got some of this _hoard_ out of your house. How many rooms have you taken over this season?"

"Only the kitchen table," Gosta protested.

"And the bathroom?"

"...Half the bathroom. You can still use the tub!"

"That's a first," Saani grinned. She ran a finger over a nearby piece, its crystalline surface smoother than it looked.

"Want me to make you one?" Gosta asked, watching her gaze.

Saani let her hand fall, eyes narrowing. "Think you can make a little freighter?"

Gosta snorted. "You want a miniature of your ship? To go _in your ship?"_ She walked past Saani, reached a hand over to ruffle her hair as she went. "And you make fun of _me_ for having a one-track mind."

Saani huffed her hair out of her eyes. "Well? Can you?"

"Of course I can," Gosta said, not a little proudly, "I can make you the best damn model you've ever seen, the best... uh..." She scrunched up her nose, glanced back at Saani. "What model is your ship, again?"

"I'll send you a holo," Saani said, rolling her eyes.

"Thanks," Gosta said, eyes already falling to an unfinished piece on the shelf below her. She picked it up, pulling a glue bottle out of her apron at the same time.

"Now leave that for a minute and come say hi," Saani said, deftly scooping the sculpture out of her hands before depositing it back on a different shelf.

"Oh, alright," Gosta said, with a look of resigned amusement; she dropped the glue bottle back into the depths of her apron pocket, wiping her hands on its already filthy surface before following Saani out.

They came upon everyone in the living room, crammed around a low table as Corso showed off a series of holo-images. "Oh, hey Captain," Corso said as they entered, though no one else looked up.

"Should I even ask?" Saani said, watching as the holo turned to a picture of Corso standing in front of what looked to be a spaceport. 

"They're travel pictures," Corso said, "I figure _someone's_ gotta show your folks what we've been up to."

"And by what we've been up to, you mean..."

Bowdaar, who'd apparently rejoined them while Saani was gone, made a huffing noise of amusement. _"They are images of Corso outside of bars and staring at large structures. No fighting, no criminals."_

Risha glanced at Saani, shoulders silently shaking with laughter. _No criminals? Except, you know. Us._

"Hey, that's not true," Corso protested in a moment of accidental clarity, "there's pictures of you guys, too!"

"What's not true?" her mom asked, as Risha gave a loud snort; Saani decided to take this moment to silently thank whatever authority figures in her parents' lives _didn't_ teach them shyriiwook. Not that they didn't _vaguely_ know the kind of escapades that dotted Saani's past (and present), but...

"That Corso's not a holo-hog," Saani said, shooting a sly grin his way. "If I'd known he was going to fill 10 albums with selfies, I'd have assigned _C2 _to holo-duties."

"Wow," Corso said, "harsh."

"You should be kinder to your friends," her dad said in gentle admonishment, "I'm sure they would take a holo of you if you asked."

"That's not what this is about," Saani said, jabbing a finger at them like she was making a point that _wasn't_ about a holo-roll full of selfies.

"Mmhm." Gosta patted the couch beside her with a knowing look. "Come on, dear, let's see some of these _terrible_ holos before you go running off again."

_"Fine,"_ Saani huffed, collapsing dramatically onto the couch. "But I'm taking all Dad's homemade scones."

"Oh," her dad said, "sorry, sweetheart, we finished the last batch yesterday."

_"Noooooo."_

**Author's Note:**

> and bc it's maybe not super clear: saani's mom is married to their dad, and also gosta (bc what good is space fantasy if not for legal polyamorous marriages). saani just calls her aunt gosta bc she joined their poly-vee later in saani's life, and is more of an aunt figure than a parent to them.


End file.
